Apparatus for exhibiting pictures.



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APPARATUS FOR BXHIBITING PICTURES.

APPL'IOATQEON FILED APB. 29, 1904.

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APPARATUS POR'EXHIBITING PICTURES.

APPLICATION I'ILED APR. 29, 1904.

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Patented April 11, 1905.

PATENT OFFicE.

- REUBEN COHEN, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

APPARATUS FOR EXHIBIT'ING PICTURES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 786,954, dated April 11, 1905.

Application filed April 29,;1904. Serial No. 205,836.

To all whom zltmay concern:

Be it known that I, REUBEN COHEN, a citicisco, in the county of San Francisco and State of California, have invented new and-useful Improvements in Apparatus for Exhibiting Pictures, of which the following is a specification. 1 1

This invention relates to improvements made in stereoscopic devices or apparatus of the kind or description that are designed or adapted for. exhibiting a number of pictures in successive order to several persons at the same time. For this purpose they are usually provided with several sight-apertures fitted with lenses behind which the pictures are moved in succession atintervals apart through the medium of a traveling carrier within an inclosing chamber illuminated by artificial light.

The present improvements applicable to apparatus of this character embrace certain novel construction and combination of rotatable carrier, mechanism for rotating the carrier intermittently with regular intervals of rest, and illuminating devices of novel construction and operation, all as hereinafter more particularly described and explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of the complete apparatus in the form in which I have embodied my improvements, showing the front panels of the cabinet on the left of the line or w removed to expose the rotatable carrier and its driving mechanism.

Fig. 2 is a top view of the cabinet with the is a cross-section taken horizontally on the line 3/ y, Fig. 3, showing the automatic brake in top view.

The cabinet inclosing the working parts and forming a dark chamber is of polygonal foutline, having sides or faces at equal in number to the sides of the rotatable carrier, which in turn determine the number of pictures .Kindicated at b, inFig. 2) to be exhibited by the apparatus during one complete rotation.

The present one has provision for ten pictures, and every panel accordingly has a sightaperture 0, inclosed by a lens-holding box d, in frontof which is fixed the lens cl. These boxes usually are made detachable from the -front of the panel to afford ready access to the interior for inspecting the operation or with a horizontally-set shaft w, to which continuous rotary motion is given from a motordriven shaft y through the medium of .a spurgear 2 and a pinion 3. Power. to run the shaft 3 is best furnished bymounting an electrical motor 4 on the lower part ofthe frame and connecting the shaft with it by a belt 5 and pulleys 6 6', as seen in Fig. 1. Connected in this manner the upright shaft p is driven with acontinuous movement while the motor is working.

The required stop-motion to provide the required intervals of rest in the picture-carrier is produced by means of intermittent gearing of any well-known construction so proportioned or regulated as to rotate the picture-carrier a distance equal to the Width of one picture-holding side of the carrier in every complete revolution of the shaft 19.

The gearing employed in the present construction consists of the driving-wheel 8, fast on the shaft 19 and having a single tooth 9, and the notched wheel 10, having spaced notches 12, the number of which is equal to the number of picture-holding sides on the rotatable carrier. The rims of these wheels are formed to run in contact. At the end of the axle 9 an upright shaft 19, supported by bearings 12 n, is connected by worm-gearss t every rotative movement as the tooth of the driver 8 passes out of the notch in the wheel 10 the picture-carrier is held at rest by a brake which is thrown on the shaft 7 each time with the effect to check all vibratory movement of the carrier and hold the pictures steady as soon as the carrier completes its forward movement. A construction of brake well adapted for this purpose is represented in Figs. 3, 4, and 7, in which brake-levers 42, carrying friction-shoes 43, act on the rim of a disk keyed on the shaft or axle g of the picture-carrier and are thrown on and off by means operated from the continuously-rotating shaft 19 at proper intervals to release the axle y when the tooth 9 of the driver is in engagement with the wheel 10 and to put on the brake and hold the carrier stationary as the tooth passes out of the notch. The disk 40 is keyed on the shaft g, and the brake-levers embracing it are pivotally attached at one end to lugs on the bracket of, so as to embrace the disk. The outer ends of the brakelevers have friction-rollers 44, set to bear against the rim of a face-cam 41. that is fast on the shaft 1) and is formed with two drop portions situated diametrically opposite to each other and alternately elevated and concentric portions. A coiled spring 16, connecting the brake-levers together, holds the ends 44: continually in working contact with the rim of the cam. Asthe shaft 9 is arranged to make one complete revolution before it acts on the picture-carrier to turn it the required distance to bring another picture in position, the cam is made to operate the brake accordingly. I prefer to use two brake-levers and a pair of friction-shoes arranged on diametrically opposite sides of the disk 10 instead of a single lever, for the reason that the arrangement shown causes less vibration to the picture-carrier when the brakes are suddenly applied, as the jar incident to applying one brake is counteracted by the opposing shock incident to the application of the other brake-shoe. It is true that the con struction shown operates to twice set the brakes against the disk on the shaft for each revolution of the shaft 0. This is incidental to the use of two brakes and brake-levers and a single cam for operating them. The im portant feature of operation is that the shaft 9 is free to turn when the teeth 9 comes into engagement with the wheel 10 and is immediately braked when the tooth passes out from engagement therewith. The second operation of the brakes is, as stated, incidental.

In addition to its function of intermittently moving the picture-carrier the shaft p operates an electrical circuitchanging device, through the medium of which two separate sets of incandescent lamps are brought into service to produce alternate day and night effects in the pictures. In one set or group these lamps are supported by brackets 1 1 in position to illuminate the pictures from the front, and a second or additional set are supported by the same brackets to throw light through the pictures from the back, so that by closing the lighting-circuit of the set of lamps 15 in front the pictures will show day scenes or by cutting off that set and throwing on the set 16 at the back the pictures will show the same scenes as they appear by night. The pictures used in connection with this exhibiting apparatus have translucent and transparent portions to transmit or expose the rays of light through those portions that are to be illuminated. The lamps 15 are connected in circuit with a lighting-circuit convenient to the apparatus by conductors 17, in which is interposed a set of stationary contact-points 18 19 of a knife-edge switch, the rocking member 21 of which is pivotally mounted on a shaft 22 in the supporting bracket or frame to move in an are on that point 22 as a center and carrying two circuit-closing arms 23 24-, insulated from each other. A second set of stationary contacts 25 26 on the same frame are placed on the opposite side of the pivotal point 22, but in a plane with the movable member 21, and from these contacts conducting-wires 27 are connected, respectively, with the lighting-circuit outside the apparatus and the circuit of theset of lamps 16 within the circle of the pictures. The position occupied by the movable arms 23 241 of the switch and the length of time they stand at rest in one or the other set of contacts will be seen to determine the character of the scenes in front of the observers at the lenses and the duration of the same, In the one case the circuit will be closed at the contacts 18 19 and the series of lamps 15 will illuminate the pictures, while in the other case the circuit taking in the other series of lamps, 16, will be closed when the movable member is thrown over to the opposite side of the center and the circuit closing arm moved between the contacts 25 26, thus opening the circuit of the lamps 15 and closing the other set, 16, which illuminate the pictures from the back. These effects are produced alternately in or during every period of rest while the carrier is held stationary by throwing the circuit-closer out of one set of contacts and into the other set by the following means: The rock-shaft 22, on which the rocking member 21 is loosely set, has on one end a triangular head 28 and on the opposite end an arm 29, from which a stud 30 extends at right angles to the plane of the rocking member 21 and into a notch 31 in the top edge of that part. 'lurning the rockshaft 22 brings the stud 30 against one or the other of the shoulders at the ends of the notch 31, with the efiect to close one or the other of the circuits, according to the direction in which the switch is thrown. Movement of the rockshaft alternately to the right and the left takes place once every complete revolution of the shaft and is produced usually at such periods in the interval of rest of the carrier while the pictures are stationary that the day and night effects following each other are of about equal duration. These are produced directly from the continuously-running shaft 19 by means of tappets or projections 32 33 on the shaft and the head on the end of the rock-shaft 22. The tappets being situated on opposite sides of the center of motion of the head 28 move the latter piece alternately to the right and the left by striking the angular faces 34 35 of the head, as will be readily understood from Figs. 3 and 4:. Operating the picture-carrier and controlling the lights from the same shaft reduces the number of parts in the mechanism. The carrier is provided with grooved posts'36 at the angles to receive and support the pictures.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an apparatus for exhibiting pictures, the combination of a rotatable carrier on an upright axle, a motor-driven shaft, a second shaft connected to the motor-shaft by gearing and driven continuously therefrom, intermittent gears connecting the axle of the carrier with the continuously-driven shaft comprising a wheel having a single tooth on the said shaft, and a notched wheel on the axle, two sets of electric lights in separate circuits one adapted to illuminate the pictures in the carrier from the front and the other set to illuminate the pictures from the back, and mechanically-operated conductors connecting said lighting-circuits with a source of current, a mechanically-operated switch controlling said circuits, and means for operating said switch from the driving mechanism to open and close said lighting-circuits in an alternate manner.

2. In an apparatus for exhibiting pictures, the combination of a cabinet having a polygonal shape and provided with sight-apertures at intervals apart around the circumference, a rotatable carrier having a corresponding number of picture-Holding sides mounted for rotation on an upright axle, a motor-shaft, an upright shaft geared respectively with the op' crating-axle and with the motor-shaft, electric lights in circuit with a source of current, the

upright axle, a motor-driven shaft, an intermediate shaft driven continuously from the motor-shaft, intermittent gears connecting the ing of a set of spring-contacts in each circuit,

a rocking member carrying circuit-closing arms, a rock-shaft operatively connected with the rocking member, across-head on said rockshaft and studs on the continuously-rotating shaft for engaging the cross-head.

4. In an apparatus for exhibiting pictures, the combination with the picture -carrier mounted for rotation on an axle, of a continuously-rotating shaft, intermediate gears operatively connecting and disconnecting the shaft and the axle, and a brake device actuated intermittently from the continu0uslyr0- tating shaft, and adapted to lock the axle at the moment of disengagement of the intermittent gears, and afterward to release the axle in advance of the engagement of the gears.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

REUBEN COHEN.

Witnesses:

EDWARD E. OSBORN, HARRY J. LASK. 

